Be Here Now

I can't believe it took me this long to read this book, especially considering its similarity with the majority of books I read. I was completely blown away by how mind-bending and honest the book appears to me. "Be Here Now" includes a brief autobiographical introduction from Ram Dass (formerly known as Richard Alpert), a zen koan-like middle passage full of different ways to see reality, a concluding section detailing various methods that one can undertake in his or her spiritual journey, a glossary of terms, and an amazing list of books to read at the end. The autobiographical section did not impress me as much as I had originally hoped, but that was mainly because I was looking forward to reading the middle passage, with its inspiring artwork and psychedelic calligraphy. I zoomed through the introduction, but I consider it to be a very important section of the book because it really sets the tone and helps the reader to understand how Ram Dass became the person who he was when he wrote the book. The middle section blew my mind. I don't know what else to say about it. It reminds me of Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching" in some way - full of wisdom and a unique way at looking at reality. I couldn't help feeling like the words printed on the page were the truest things I had ever set my eyes upon. Honest in some way that I don't yet understand, but hope to one day. The third section, with its descriptions of various spiritual practice was at once both a great overview of things I have read about in the past and also an introduction to some new approaches that I may choose to incorporate on my own spiritual journey. This section in particular was really motivating for me and reinvigorates my desire to continue on the path I have already begun. The glossary of terms does an effective job at explaining the foreign words and concepts that are found throughout the book. It would be extremely beneficial to anyone (including myself) that is not familiar with Sanskrit or traditionally Eastern religious ideas and ways of expressing them. By far the best part of this book is the section of three lists of other books to read. They are: 1. Books To Hang Out With 2. Books To Visit With Now & Then 3. Books It's Useful To Have Met I plan on building a larger portion of my To-Read list out of the books that are contained on these lists, and have great faith that they will be eye-opening and helpful on my journey. "Be Here Now" is without a doubt one of the most impactful and uplifting books I have ever read. Although I found myself confused while reading the majority of the book, I do believe that in time I will come to understand more and more. I would easily recommend this book to everyone I know, and everyone you know too.

I originally read this when it was first published. I’ve bought these for my grown children and their Rising Generation. It’s very 70s, but still can guide one on their quest.

I was nineteen years old, "turning on" with my friends, exploring that unknown. I had been experimenting with psychedelics for the past couple years, admittingly a little young, but I had started to pick up on things. Every time I took these drugs, I would come away with these lessons. I would come down and the wisdom of the drug was gone, but what I held on to were lessons, a trickle that bleeds through into daily life. As I began to experiment more and more, I was seeing how all these lessons were built together, they were all pushing me in the same direction. I began thinking about the different parts of my mind, I called them the "subconscious" and the "conscious" at the time, and thinking about the relationship between the two. These thoughts bled deeply enough that I became cognizantly aware of all these things I was consciously or subconsciously doing throughout my day. A week or so went by since I had had this realization, and in my excitement, I was telling my mom about what I was thinking, looking for a wiser perspective on this thing in my head that I couldn't seem to understand. The next day my mom put this book on my desk, a book a friend of hers had given her when I was just a couple years old.I had remembered seeing it when I was younger, flipping through it and thinking it was absolute nonsense, but I just wasn't ready, I wasn't open. Now my roommate sees it lying open and tells me it looks like absolute nonsense. Maybe it is nonsense. When I was first reading this book I was so intrigued, the story, the "brown pages!!!" Everything within this book rings so true and penetrates so deep. I refer to this as the closest thing I have to a bible. One of those books I pick up whenever I'm lost, looking for guidance. A book that resonates with me at a different frequency every time I read it. I almost feel weird giving this book to my friends saying, "this book changed my life." It's like I'm a member of a proselytizing religion. But I have gotten so much from this book! Maybe you'll read this book and think its nonsense, but I would recommend this book from deep in the heart. It has sent me deeper, and deeper I will go

I purchased this book after reading the Walter Issacson biography of Steve Jobs, which stated how impactful the book had been to Jobs. I have to admit I didn't know what to expect, and after receiving the book that notion was reinforced after shuffling through the middle section. I wanted to give it a fair chance anyway so I started to read. The first part of the book tells the story of how Ram Das goes from a Harvard professor to becoming Ram Das and I was immediately sucked into a story that captured my full attention. The second part of the book however really threw me at first. The formatting is odd, and there are parts that are challenging to read as in some places it seems like words are just all over the place and don't really seem to go together (Later I understood that it was derived from pages of his journal, and didn't necessarily have to go together, but could be read as individual pages / notes). In honesty I thought, ok this poor man lost his mind somewhere between the first part and the second part. Being that I had heard so many good things though I continued to read through it. The 3rd section, the Cook Book, immediately captured me again, and as I continued to read I was blown away at how profound it was. So many just pure Gems that I thought wow, this amazing person hasn't lost his mind at all, in fact, he seems to understand, he really gets it, and there were parts that just spoke to me. I actually remember thinking something, then reading about that topic, and then thinking, ok this book is inside my head, It's literally talking about a topic that I was just thinking about. I will read this book again, and again, and I am confident that no matter how many times I read it, I will pull something else out of it each time. Its formatting is a little odd, and if you have flipped through it and thought: "This won't have anything useful in it", I highly encourage you to reconsider. Think of the middle section as a daily read. They are thoughts and deep concepts that can be taken as one-offs for daily reflection, while the Cook Book will give you such depth of knowledge and a peek into his wisdom that it will literally blow your mind!! This book is truly an amazing read!! What a rollercoaster, I don't believe I have ever read anything like it before. Must Read!!

A truly life changing book that I found in a bookshop when I was about 16. Studied it, sometimes with friends, throughout college. This resulted in some really profound and memorable experiences. Gave it away to a friend I thought needed it years ago but she wasn't smart enough to value it unfortunately. In modern globally conscious society this is a great way to introduce children to spirituality and religion. Ram Dass found a very clever balance of thinking that is really inclusive of most spiritual traditions throughout the world, and that's what I think is the most valuable thing about this book. Sometimes it's Christian, then Buddhist, Sufi, and in the end it's very philosophical. Fools will just look at the pretty pictures, and there a lots of them - super awesome illustrations. But there is real depth here. Now that I've grown up a whole lot of this book is just silly, but I appreciate how thought provoking it was to me as a kid. At a time when I was too smart for my own good but had nothing really worth thinking about, it was awesome to finally be hit with ideas that would leave me completely confused for hours or days. I owe a lot to this book. So about a year ago I said screw it, I'd like to send a message of thanks to Mr. Alpert / Ram Dass. I contacted his people, wrote a heartfelt message just saying dude thank you for your awesome book can you please let him know what a great book he created. And I got some PR turd who said if you'd like to speak with the holy Ram Dass you can send a check for like $10,000 for entrance to his spiritual retreat in Hawaii. So yeah, the guy sold out and became an ass, but it happens. Anyway I bought another copy and it's a great coffee table book.

Really the only book I ever needed.

Enjoying Ram Dass's book. My husband listened to the audio book, but I enjoy reading from physical books! Was surprised by the shape (square) and consistency of the book material. Pages are a bit thin and can easily crease or rip. The font would be easier to read if it were black instead of the orange or blue font. Other than that, I am enjoying the reading and what Ram Dass has to say about life and existence!

My first encounter with this book, was when my partner read it to me next to the beach...at the time it completely went over my head, because I didn't understand the context or much about spirituality. The main message that I got from it at that time was to be more in the moment and not to get so caught up in my worries about the past or future. This book was what got me into spirituality though, because after I learned that lesson, my life started to evolve in ways that I never expected, I became more content with my life, by just being more mindful and living in the present. I went on to borrow my partners book many a time and each time I started to learn more and more beautiful lessons, which would always end up helping with a "problem" in my life, the solution was always to be more mindful, present, and loving (whether that be with myself, others, or the universe). I was at an all time low before this book came into my life I had many demons in my life as well, but Be Here Now reminded me just that...to be here now with my demons just as much as with my angels and in the end they became one. One beautiful symphony that is just loving awareness. Many beautiful things came about from this book, I ended up being able to meet Ram Dass even though I didn't have a penny to spend to see him. I'm so grateful for this book entering my life! Oh yeah... and I only recently purchased my own and quite honestly I would say it's the only book which anyone ever needs to own/read. All of the rest of the books on spirituality say the same thing as this, but then again whatever book you chose is meant for you, so go ahead! hahaha Enjoy!

ti apre un nuovo mondo, una diversa prospettiva per vedere il cambiamento

Beau Livre, mélange écrit et lecture méditative avec dessins extraits de proverbes et autres. Personnellement c’est une bible pour tous ceux qui entreprennent un chemin spirituel et qui sont peut être perdus après une expérience psychédélique importante. Ram Dass qui était un professeur de psychologie à harward et qui entreprend un chemin spirituel, quel délice à lire. Un livre qui mélange histoire biographique de quelqu’un qui a expirimente les psychedelics et qui fini sur une voie spirituelle pas facile mais finalement qui termine par être un guide pour beaucoup d’entre nous. J’adore

Item is excellent but damaged due to Evri leaving it out in the rain.

Amazing book

Simple, deep, loving and beautifull. Lovingly fast shippin and it came savely packed. RamRamRam. Sita Rama Jai Hanuman. Jai Maharadji Jai Ram Dass Just Be Here Now